Means for and methods of grading trenches and laying pipe therein



March 2, 1965 s. KUNDEL 3,171,210

MEANS FOR AND METHODS OF GRADING TRENCHES AND LAYING PIPE THEREIN Filed Dec. 1961 n MW/ w m United States Patent MEANS FOR AND METHODSfOF GRADING TRENQHES AND LAYING PIPE TI-IEREIN Steve Kundel', Warren', Ohio, assignor to Kundel Construction Company, Warren, Ohio Filed Dec. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 157,132 1 Claim. (Cl. 3386) My invention relates to means for and methods of grading trenches or of laying pipe in trenches accor'ding to a predetermined grade established by a surveying operation and the principal" object of my invention is to provide new and improved means and methods of the character described.

My invention enables workmen to maintain the bottom of a trench or excavation, or pipe or conduit laid therein, at a continuously predetermined grade so that such trench or pipe or conduit will'permit correct flow of liquid therein.

The prior art is probably best represented by United StatesP'atentNo. 2,632,954, issued March '31, 1953, to Morton W. Lieberman, and entitled Precision Grade Board and Accessories. In this patent, .a plurality of grade boards are positioned in spaced relation along the trench, each board straddling the latter. Each gradeboard has an upright portion which receives a grade line. A grade pole is utilized in connection with the grade line to determine the grade of the trench.

The prior art construction thus requires the use of a plurality of grade boards which not only represent initial expense but also replacement expense. Further, the prior art has'been found reliable only when the terrain is relatively smooth. When the terrain is rough or rocky, the grade boards may-be tilted or cocked at inconvenient angles, making grade measurements diiiicult and inaccurate.

My invention overcomes the aforementioned diiiiculties and enables a trench or pipe grade to be maintained with low-cost means which are highly mobile for transfer from job to job, and which may-be used with accuracy under all conditions of theterrain,

In the drawing accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application, there is shown, for purposeof illustration, an -embodiment which my invention may assume, and in this drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a broken perspective view, with parts in section, of a preferred embodiment of my invention,-

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary portion of said-embodiment, and

FIGURE 3 is a broken side elevational view of a different form of said embodiment.

In actual practice, a zero point or bench mark is determined and is preferably some j-poin-t which the bottom of the trench, or which the pipe, will reach. To prevent waterin the trench (as-it isdug) from-interfering with subsequent excavation operation, it is' best to start excavating from the high point of'the-trench and work toward the low point. It will bea'ppreciated that in some cases it maybe desired to start excavating from the high point and my invention will operate with equal utility.

To mark the predetermined grade which is established by a surveying operation, a plurality of grade stakes are set into the ground alonga path which is adjacent to and parallel with the path of the trench to be dug. In some cases, the trench may have already been dug, either partially or completely, inwhich case-the grade stakes are set into the ground alongside one edge of the trench and spaced apart a-longsuch edge.

The grade stakes 10 may be spaced apart any predetermined distance, largely depending on the length of the trench. In some installations, the stakes have been 3,171,210 Patented Mar. 2, 1965 spaced fifty feet apart but this distance is given byway of illustration and not of limitation. Some predetermined part of the grade stakes 10', usually the upper end surface, indicates the predetermined grade point at the respective stake. The preferred embodiment of my invention includes the use of a plurality of line stakes 11 which are supported from the ground, each adjoining a respective grade stake 10.

The line stakes 11 may take any suitable form and in :the present embodiment each is shown as a one inch metal pipe which is pointed at the lower end, as shown at 12, for easy penetration into the ground, and headed at the upper end, as shown at 14. Each line stake 11 has a sleeve 15 slidable thereon, a bracket 16 being rigidly connected to the sleeve, as by welding, and extending angularly therefrom. A wing bolt 17 is adapted to clamp a plate 18 against the upper surface of the bracket 16. The

sleeve 15 is held in adjusted position along the line stake by a set screw 19 which may have the usual head, as shown, or may have a laterally extending handle so that a wrench is not needed. 7

A grade line 2%) is strung between line stakes 11 and is detachably held by the clamp plates 18 to'the brackets 16 through the tightening operation of the wing bolts 17 so that the line between adjoining line stakes may be held taut. As shown in FIGURE 1, the line is carried by a pair of reels 21, 21, which in the present; case, are similar, one acting as a payoff reel and the other acting as a winding reel.

Each reel 21 comprises a frame, preferably formed of joined tubular members, such as pipe, to provide a pairof upright tubes 22, 22 joined at their upper endsby a cross tube 23 and joined near their lower ends bya cross plate 24, thereby embodying rigidity to the frame structure. The lower ends of the upright tubes may be pointed for easy penetration into the ground, and a flat'tang,

with a pointed lower end, may be connected to and extend downwardly from the cross plate 24, also for penetration into the ground; The cross plate, it will be appreciated, will effectively limit ground penetration of the tubes 22 and the tang.

A reel spool 25 is rotatably carried between the upright tubes 22 by sleeves 26 which are slidably mounted on respective uprighttubes, each sleeve being held in predetermined position along its tube by a set screw 27. A hand crank 28 is connected to the journal of each reel spool 25 for manual. rotation of the latter, andapawl and ratchet arrangement 29 is provided to maintain the spool against rotation in a predetermined direction.

To complete the apparatus of the embodiment illustrated, a batter rod 30 is provided, this rod being preferably formed as arod or tube of aluminum to resist corrosion. A spirit level 32 is connected to the upper surface of the batter rod at the rod end 31 An upright member 34 is adapted to be disposed in thetrench and handled by a workman within the latter. A peg 35 is carried by and projects from the upright member 34', the latter having openings spaced longitudinally at its upper portion to selectively receive the peg 35 and thus determine the distance between the peg and a head 36 at the lower end of the upright member 34, which distance determines the depth of the trench.

In use, the lines-takes 11 are pounded into the ground in position adjoining respective grade stakes 10 and'one of the reels 21 (used as a payoff reel) is positioned at the starting point of the trench by pounding the lower ends of the upright tubes 22, 22 and the tang, into the ground at such starting point at the side of the trench, or to one side of the path for the trench.

Each of the sleeves 15 of the line stakes 11 is set the same distance on its stake, this distance being any arbitrarily chosen amount above the upper end surface of the adjoining ground stake. The setting of the sleeves is easily determined by measuring the same distance (as by use of a guage stick, not shown) between each ground stake and the bracket 16 of a respective line stake. Thus, the successive brackets will line along the same grade line as that established by the grade stakes. It is now only necesary to clamp the grade line 20 to the brackets of successive line stakes 11 in taut manner to dispose the grade line parallel to the line determined by the grade stakes.

In the example illustrated in FIGURE 1, the trench has been dug to approximate depth and grade and a workman has started to lay pipe therein. When it is desired to check if the pipe is at the proper depth and is following the predetermined grade, a workman in the trench places the member 34 in upright position with the head 36 touching a predetermined part of the pipe, such as the inner surface as shown. A plumb bob 40 supported from a line 41 suspended from the batter rod enables the workman to hold the member 34 in true vertical position, thus avoiding any undesirable inclination of the member 34 which would affect the accuracy of the check. The plumb line 41 may be wound about the batter rod 30, as shown at 42, or a line reel (not shown) may be carried by rod, so that the length of the line 41 may be adjusted to suit depth conditions of the trench.

It is assumed that the peg has been secured within a proper opening in the member 34 to correspond to the desired depth of the trench or pipe laid therein, Another workman, preferably a foreman or other supervisor, may now check to determine if the pipe is following the surveyed grade line. This checking is easily accomplished by resting an intermediate part of the batter rod on the peg 35 and then raising or lowering the rod end 31 until the level shows that the rod is level. If the rod end 31 is above the grade line 20, this means that the pipe is too high and that the workman in the trench will be required to dig more from the trench bottom to lower the pipe. If the rod end 31 is below the grade line 20, this means that the pipe is too low and that the workman will have to shore up the pipe. This method enables the supervisor to have complete control of the checking operation since the workman in the trench ordinarily cannot see the manipulations outside of the trench and therefore would not know how to shift the upright member 34 to fake results.

The batter rod is made purposely long, as seen in FIG- URE 1, so that it will be adapted for trenches of considerable width. The supervisor preferably places the batter rod 30 on the peg 35 so that the rod end 31 is close to the grade line 20 but is spaced slightly therefrom so that the end may be moved up or down without striking the line 20. As seen in FIGURE 2, the supervisors hand H grasps the rod at its end 31 and the thumb T is used to determine whether or not the rod end is at the same height as the line 20. If the rod end is lower or higher than the grade line, the supervisor may sight the amount and an experienced operator may in time be able to judge such distance by feel of his thumb on the line. Of course, it is possible to lay the rod end 31 on the grade line 20 and then view the level 32 in making the check but this is not the preferred method since weight of the rod may depress the line. Further, unless the supervisor is highly experienced, it is difiicult to determine which Way the pipe should be moved by inspection of the level only. In the preferred method, the supervisor quickly learns that if the end 31 of the level batter rod is higher than the grade line, the pipe must be lowered, and vice versa. It will be appreciated that my inproved apparatus and method may be used to determine proper grade of a trench whether a pipe is to be laid therein or not. For example, in some instances trench bottoms must follow a predetermined grade and in such case the head 36 of upright 4 member 34 will be placed on such bottom during the checking operation.

The reel opposite to that used as the payoll reel may be omitted in the interest of further economy, but its use is preferred to insure against slippage of the grade line through the line stake clamps and thus avoid undesirable slackne ss in the grade line. The additional reel is also desired since the grade line may be wound up, when the grading is completed, from either end of the job. Further, the additional reel acts as a spare in the event the other reel becomes inoperative for any reason.

The form of the invention shown in FIGURE 3 is quite similar to that descibed and in this form one of the reels 21 is omitted, a solid rod 45 taking its place. rod 45 may be one of several rods corresponding to the line stakes hereinbefore referred to and is provided with a vertically adjustable sleeve 15a carrying a line bracket 16a as before. An inclined brace 46 is preferably used to hold the rod upright. A grade line 20a is clamped to the bracket 16a and may also be otherwise connected to the rod to guarantee against slippage.

The grade line 20a may be supported along its length by other rods similar to the rod 45 and its opposite end in the interest of economy, may be similarly connected to an end rod. However, as shown in FIGURE 3, the opposite end of the grade line is wound upon a spool 25a which may have a pawl arrangement as before. The spool is removably attached to sleeves 26a which are slidable along tubes 22a. Thus, at the end of the day, the line and spool, which represent the relatively expensive items of my apparatus, may be removed for safe keeping.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

The method of digging a trench or laying a pipe in a trench a predetermined depth and in accordance with a predetermined grade line established by a surveying method, comprising stringing a line at a fixed vertical distance above and parallel to said established grade line and longitudinally along one side of the trench line, plac ing a first rod plumb vertically within the dug trench with the lower end engaging the trench bottom or the pipe laid therein and with the upper portion projecting outwardly of said trench, pivoting a second rod on the upper portion of said first rod at a selected vertical distance determining the trench depth, holding said second rod crosswise of said trench and adjacent to said line, pivoting said second rod to true horizontal position, and gauging the elevation of said rod end relative to said line.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 155,458 9/74 McElroy 33-138 449,920 4/91 Thorn 33-216 854,916 5/07 Stoner 3386 907,329 12/08 Fusco 33-86 961,108 6/10 Davis 254l63 1,021,406 3/12 Gillette 33-85 1,237,260 8/17 Bentson 33185.5 2,632,954 3/53 Lieberman 3386 2,769,613 11/56 Blosick 254163 FOREIGN PATENTS 275,413 8/27 Great Britain.

ISAAC LISANN, Primary Examiner.

The 

